ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Finance
Special Liquidity Scheme for NBFCs and HFCs: Implementation Status
Five proposals involving an amount of Rs. 3090 crore sanctioned; 35 more applications under process
The Special Liquidity Scheme of Rs. 30,000 crore for NBFCs and HFCs is being implemented w.e.f. 1st July, 2020 as a follow up of one of the announcements under Aatma Nirbhar Bharat package made by the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 13th May, 2020. The Scheme has been launched to improve the liquidity position of NBFCs/HFCs through a Special Purpose Vehicle  to avoid any potential systemic risks to the financial sector.
The Scheme has received a very positive response. As on 23rd July, 2020, five  proposals involving an amount of Rs. 3090 crore have already been sanctioned. Further, 35 more applications have been received seeking financing upto Rs. 13776 crore, which are under process.
The Scheme is being implemented by SLS Trust, the SPV set up by SBI Capital Markets Limited . Any NBFC including Microfinance Institutions registered with RBI under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934  and any HFC registered with the National Housing Bank  under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 which is complying with certain specified conditions are eligible to raise funding from this facility. The Scheme will remain open for 3 months for making subscriptions by the Trust. The Scheme permits both primary and secondary market purchases of debt and seeks to address the short-term liquidity issues of NBFCs/HFCs. Therefore, those market participants who are looking to exit their standard investments with a residual maturity of 90 days may also approach the SLS Trust.
RM/KMN
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Ministry of Education
Multilingual and multicultural environment for children
National Education Policy, 2020 has placed a strong emphasis on multilingual and multicultural education. NCERT has initiated the development of National Curriculum Frameworks in the area of Early Childhood Care and Education, School Education, Teacher Education and Adult Education. In this regard, 25 themes have been drawn from NEP 2020, on which the focus groups at the state and the National levels have been constituted. These themes include- Language Education, Knowledge of India, Value Education, etc. Further, NCERT prepares textbooks in three medium of instruction namely English, Hindi & Urdu. The States/UTs adopt or adapt NCERT textbooks according to the local needs or translate the contents of textbooks in their medium of instruction. Textbooks and other reading materials are prepared as subject in four languages Hindi, English, Urdu & Sanskrit. In addition, Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing for School Education  - a Digital learning resources consists of e-learning content for students of grades 1 to 12 in 36 Languages.
Besides, NCERT has undertaken the following initiatives to introduce children to a multilingual and multicultural environment -
- Under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat - Bhashasangam programme has been initiated for the familiarisation and promotion of Mother tongues and Indian Languages.
- The existing textual materials in languages include good translations of stories from Indian Languages; which ensures exposure to the multicultural character of the society.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Southern Star Sappers celcebrate 240th Corps Day at Pune
Pune, 18 November 2020
The Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, also called the Sappers celebrated their 240th Corps Day on 18 November 2020 at the Southern Command Headquarters in Pune. Lieutenant General CP Mohanty, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command conveyed his compliments to all the Sappers in giving their best to meet the ever rising challenges in operational and peace time domains.
In a solemn wreath laying ceremony, Major General Vikram Joshi, Deputy Commandant, College of Military Engineering with other serving and retired officers laid wreath at the National War Memorial and paid homage to the ‘Fallen Sappers’. Lieutenant General Ram Subramanyam, Param Vishist Seva Medal  laid the wreath on behalf of the veterans of the Corps of Engineers.
Sappers have a glorious history dating back to the mid-18th century. The Corps officially recognizes its birth as 1780 when the senior most group of the Corps, the Madras Sappers, was raised. Subsequently, the Groups of Bengal and Bombey Sappers were formed in their respective presidencies. These Groups were later merged on 18 November 1932 to form the Corps of Engineers. This day is celebrated as Corps of Engineers Day every year. The Corps of Engineers provides combat engineering support and develops infrastructure for the armed forces along our vast borders besides providing succor to populace during natural disasters. These tasks are executed through four pillars of the Corps namely the Combat Engineers, the Military Engineering Services, the Border Roads Organisation and the Military Survey of India.
The Corps of Engineers has excelled in multifarious activities both during war and peace and has to its credit one Param Vir Chakra, one Ashok Chakra, one Padma Bhushan, 38 Param Vishist Seva Medals, two Maha Vir Chakras, 13 Kirti Chakras, three Padma Shris, 88 Ati Vishist Seva Medals, 25 Vir Chakras, 93 Shaurya Chakras, six Yudh Seva Medals and many other awards. They have also made distinct contribution towards nation building by executing state of the art civil engineering works. The rich experience and professionalism of Sappers in providing effective aid to civil authorities was witnessed by the entire country during the conduct of Flood Relief Operations in the months of September and October 2020 in the affected regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, wherein the gallant sappers rescued thousands of stranded citizens who were on the brink of despair and panic. The Corps has not only done credible work within the Nation but has also left indelible imprints on foreign land earning an enviable reputation. Sappers have been the forerunners in surmounting the crisis of COVID-19 by creating and maintaining vital infrastructure in various forms all across the nation.PIB Pune  M.Iyengar/DR
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Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation
100 major events organised to make Swachhta a ‘Jan Andolan’
100 water bodies were cleaned through shramdaan
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development, Ganga Rejuvenation ends its Swachchta Pakhwara on a very positive note
The Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal and Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Human Resource Development Dr Satya Pal Singh addressed a joint press conference today, briefing the media on Swachhta Pakhwada 2018 activities organised by the Ministry from 16th March to 31st March 2018.
Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal informed that during this fortnight, more than 100 major events have been organised all over the country, ranging from Rudraprayag, in the North to Chennai, in the South and from Tezpur, in the East to Vadodara in the West. The Ministry, along with all its attached offices, subordinates organisations and PSU’s, took this up as a pan India Mission. Shri Meghwal further informed that over a hundred water bodies were cleaned at various places across the country during this period.
Speaking about the activities of the National Mission for Clean Ganga during this fortnight, MoS Dr Satya Pal Singh said that 34 major events were organized across the Ganga Basin covering 28 towns in the five states of Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The opening and closing ceremony of the Pakhwada were organised at Haridwar and Sangam at Allahabad respectively. Over 40 cultural programmes, 70 exhibitions, 500 nukkad nataks , 100 pad yatras and many painting and essay competitions were organized at various places including Kanpur, Patna, Unnao, Sahibganj, Fatehpur, Rishikesh, Kolkata, Varanasi, Munger and Vrindavan. The emphasis during these programmes was on working for sustainable and long terms contributions towards Swachhta.
Efforts were made to involve more and more children by organising events in schools at different places to inculcate cleanliness values in the nation’s future stakeholders. Innovative works were carried out by restoring, cleaning and deepening of water bodies like dams and ponds .
During the Pakhwada special Yamuna Cleanliness Drive was also organised at seven different locations by officers and staff of the Ministry and its subordinate organisations. A‘Swachhta Sarvekshan’ of all attached offices, subordinate organisations and PSU’s under the Ministry was also carried out during the period. The award for the cleanest organisation was bagged by Centre Water Commission, while the award for adopting ‘Innovative Mechanism for Sustainable Cleanliness’ was given to National Water Academy, Pune for installing a compost machine for production of compost by using dry leaves and other bio-degradable waste from the campus.
The Central Reserve Police Force and Central Industrial Security Force also contributed in the cleanliness activities during the Pakhwada and helped to create awareness about the importance of Swachhta and Making it a part of day to day life.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Shri Nitin Gadkari Reviews Progress of National Highways Projects
Directs Officials to Speed up Implementation through Faster Decisions, Stricter Monitoring
Emphasizes Need for Reducing Construction Costs
Shri NitinGadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME has directed officials of National Highways Authority of India to speed up the implementation of projects through faster decision making and stricter monitoring. The Minister, along with the MoS, Gen V.K.Singh, held a day long review of the progress of national highways projects at the NHAI headquarters here today, during which he also addressed regional officers through video conferencing.
Re-emphasizing Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s stress on the need for fast growth of infrastructure, Shri Gadkari said that there is an urgent need to develop a positive, transparent, corruption free working system with time bound decision making.Delayed decisions are totally unacceptable, he said, as they lead tocolossal loss of time and resources, and add to the woes of people. In this regard he also directed regional officers to be proactive in coordinating with district officials to fast track land acquisition and other such issues.
The Minister also talked about the need to bring down construction costs through new technology and innovative means. He said there is enough availability of funds for construction of national highways through various sources including long term funding from banks. However,in order to improve the economic viability of projects it is necessary to cut down construction costs by employing new materials, innovative technology, and by fast tracking decision making to avoid associated cost escalation.
Shri Gadkari also stressed upon the need for performance audit and said that officials must ensure that the award and construction targets for the year are fully met.
MoS, Gen V.K.Singh also addressed the regional officers and called for positive, concerted action from them that was aimed at fulfilling the targets of the Ministry and the expectations of the people of the country.
Shri Gadkari also inaugurated NHAI’s GIS based Plantation Monitoring System that assigns a unique digital address to each sapling planted on a national highway, making it possible to monitor its progress. The Minister also inaugurated NHAI’sonline TollRemittance Management System today.
Ministry of Culture
Maha Shivratri, the last bathing festival, celebrated at Prayagraj Kumbh today
Maha Shivratri, the last bathing festival of Prayagraj Kumbh, was celebrated today with religious fervour and enthusiasm. Large number of devotees thronged the Sangam, the confluence of rivers Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati braving cold and rains from mid night. Bathing was started very early morning. Prayagraj Mela Authority had developed ghats at Sangam and other areas of the Mela for pilgrims. Mela Administration had estimated that about one crore devotees would take holy dip on the occasion. Special trains and buses were put into service to ferry the devotees. Elaborate security arrangements were in place in and around the Mela area. Entry of vehicles into Mela area was prohibited.
Secretary, Ministery of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Mr Amit Khare visited the Prayagraj Kumbh. He went to the camps of All India Radio and Doordarshan and exhibition of BOC set up at the Mela. He appreciated the roll of all Media units of the Ministry during the Mela for the success of Divya and Bhavya Kumbh. He said media units have played significant roles in spreading the messages and sprit of Kumbh. He also announced to honour the personnel of all media units for their contributions at Prayagraj Kumbh in a function. He also appreciated the role of both national broadcasters All India Radio and Doordarshan and met the officials and artists of them. At BOC exhibition, Mr Khare also attended a folk program and clicked pictures with workers and artists. He visited most of the digital boards and offered floral tributes to father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi and Iron Man Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel at the exhibition.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Death of Wild Animals Due to Accident on NHS
Ministry of Road Transport and Highways takes all steps necessary for Wildlife protection as prescribed by National Board for Wildlife, . Major steps taken by the Ministry of Environment & Forest  to avoid such incidents are as follows:
- Ministry through its Centrally Sponsored Schemes  namely ‘Project Tiger’, ‘Project Elephant’ and ‘Development of Wildlife Habitats ’ provides funds to States and UTs for carrying various activities for habitat improvement works namely restoration of natural water bodies, creation of artificial ponds, waterholes, augmenting food/fodder sources at various places within Protected Areas to minimize the human animal conflict.
- Ministry has issued advisory to States/UTs for submission of proposals for diversion within the protected areas and Eco-sensitive Zones along with animal passage plan prepared on the basis of guidelines prepared by Wildlife Institute of India, namely, Eco-friendly Measures to Mitigate Impacts of Linear Infrastructure on Wildlife. The guidelines suggest for modifications in the designs of the linear infrastructures by way of providing eco-friendly structure which will ensure safe movement of wildlife across these linear infrastructures.
- A network of Protected Areas namely viz., National Park, Sanctuaries, Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves covering important wildlife habitat have been created all over the country under the provisions of the Wild Life  Act, 1972 to conserve wild animals and their habitats.
- Construction/erecting of physical barriers, such as barbed wire fence, solar powered electric fence, bio-fencing using cactus, boundary wall etc. to prevent the entry of wild animals into crop field.
- An advisory on handling human-wildlife conflict has been issued by the Ministry to all States on 06.02.2021 which suggests various measures that may be adopted by States for handling human-wildlife conflict. These include coordinated interdepartmental action, formation of State and district level committees, identification of conflict hot spots, adherence to Standard Operating Procedures, and establishment of rapid response teams.
This information was given by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Minister Jal Shakti stresses need to make Water Conservation a Jan Andolan like Swachh Bharat
Swachh Mahotsav 2019 launched with Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya Awards
Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, today stressed the need to launch a huge jan andolan for water conservation along lines of the Swachh Bharat Mission to address agricultural, industrial and domestic water issues.
The Minister said, “Years before today, nobody would have believed that the sanitation coverage of India would reach the 100% mark by 2019. Today, in just 4 and a half years since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission, this figure has increased from 39% to 99%. I express my gratitude to all of you who have contributed to this jan andolan and have made India a role model for the rest of the world.”
The Minister said that the challenge of providing water to 17% of the world’s population  with just 4% of water in the world available with us, is the next big challenge facing the country. He added that he was confident that, with the PM’s vision and the people’s support, this Mission too can be accomplished.
The Minister was speaking at the launch of the Swachh Mahotsav 2019 - a campaign to celebrate the successes of the Swachh Bharat Mission and honour the stakeholder who were instrumental in making it happen. Kickstarting the Mahotsav, winners of Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya were recognized by the Minister in the Capital today. The Mahotsav is being organized by the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti and will culminate on 2nd October 2019, the 150th birth year anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya contest was aimed at sustained usage of toilets by encouraging pride in the toilet by the household. From January 1 to 31, 2019, more than 1.34 crore toilets were painted, decorated and given a facelift by the people of India under the campaign. The best performing States, Districts and individuals were awarded for making the campaign successful today.
Speaking at the event, the Secretary, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Shri Parameswaran Iyer,mentioned that over 20,000 awards would be given to acknowledge the contributions of people from different walks of life under the Swachh Mahotsav campaign. He added that the campaign would be marked by immense information, education and communication activities at district, state and the national level in order to celebrate Swachhata.
The event witnessed the launch of Swachh Mahotsav logo and a book by the Minister. A book, ‘Showcasing Swachh Bharat Mission:When print media told the Swachh Bharat Story’ was launched. The book is a compilation of media coverage of the major milestones of the Swachh Bharat Missionsince 2014. The event was attended by State Secretaries, Mission Directors, District Collectors, Sarpanches, Swachhagrahis and the winners of the Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya Contest.
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SNC
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Prime Minister's Office
PM congratulates 10m Air Pistol Men's Team for winning Bronze at Asian Games
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has lauded the precision and teamwork that won Indian 10m Air Pistol Men's Team a Bronze medal at Asian Games 2022.
PM Modi praised the tenacity and determination of Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu and Adarsh Singh for securing a podium finish.
Ministry of Textiles
Shri Piyush Goyal holds first meeting of the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group for Manmade Fibre  at Vanijya Bhavan, New Delhi
Enforcement of QCO for Polyester value chain viz. Purified Terephthalic Acid , Monoethylene Glycol , Polyester fibre and yarn to be done at the earliest to curb cheap and non-essential imports – Shri Goyal
Concerns regarding pricing of Manmade fibre addressed to the satisfaction of domestic MMF fibre manufacturers and downstream industries
To handhold PLI beneficiaries, each participant company to be assigned a nodal officer from Ministry of Textiles
Union Minister of Textiles, Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution, Shri Piyush Goyal held the first meeting with the newly constituted Textile Advisory Group at the Vanijya Bhavan, New Delhi. Smt. Rachna Shah, Secretary  initiated deliberations with the Textile Advisory Group which constituted industry associations and councils including AEPC, SRTEPC, ASFI, AMFII, CPMA and SIMA to represent whole of the MMF value chain along with Senior Officials from the Ministries of Textiles, Commerce and Petroleum & Natural Gas.
Association of Man-Made fibre industry of India  and Association of Synthetic Fibre Industry  presented the overview of the sector and major challenges such as the high degree of fragmentation in the downstream textile value chain from weaving to garmenting and need of protective measures to contain rising imports MMF raw materials  and MMF yarn and fabric . The high levels of unutilized production capacities of man-made fibre due to import was discussed. The stakeholders suggested various possible solutions to strengthen and revamp the MMF value chain during the meeting.
The matters of import surge of cheap imports of PTA and MEG into India was also discussed. Shri Piyush Goyal said Government will expedite enforcement of all the Quality Control Order  on the MMF products. Shri Goyal suggested that different segments of the value chain need to be supportive to each other’s requirements and challenges for the holistic growth of the sector.
Shri Goyal cited the Production Linked Incentive  scheme for man-made fibre  apparel, MMF fabrics and products of technical textiles, as the Government’s flagship intervention to augment the size and scale of the domestic MMF sector and assured of providing dedicated handholding support to the PLI beneficiaries through specially designated Ministry of Textiles officers for the purpose.
SIMA on behalf of spinners raised the issue of revision of standard input output norms under Advance Authorization Scheme. SRTEPC on behalf of fabric and made-ups , raised the issue of shortage of capacities for quality processing and effluent treatment facilities. AEPC also raised the issue of shortage of availability of high quality processed fabric.
The industry stakeholders acknowledged the need of collaborative efforts to address the issues of the MMF industry and pledged to support and handholding each other to fast-track the growth of the Indian MMF sector.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
HIL  Ltd. records 65% growth in Exports in the first two quarters of FY 2020-21
HIL  Ltd a PSU under the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers has recorded significant growth in exports in the first two quarters of the current financial year .Company has said that it has recorded a growth of 65% growth in Exports during April- September 2020 period as compared to the corresponding period last financial year.
Company has achieved this significant growth due to large quantity of Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane  and Agrochemicals shipped to Southern African countries, Latin America and Iran during the period.
Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizer Shri D .V Sadananda Gowda Lauding the efforts of the team HIL  Limited, said, “Congratulations to the Hindustan Insecticides Limited  Management and their team for this impressive growth of 65% in the first two Qtr of FY 20-21 against the previous year. I wish the HIL a successful & remarkable year ahead.”
HIL has also recorded highest ever production of 530.10 MT of Malathion Technical in the first two quarters of the current year as compared to 375.5 MT in the corresponding period last year 
The company has also registered the highest sale for the product in the first two quarters and supplied the entire quantity to various institutions like the Ministry of Agriculture’s Locust Control Programme and municipal corporations across the country for the vector control programme.
RCJ/RKM
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